Chapter 379

Translator: 549690339

There are several requirements for promoting one’s status within the Empire.

The simplest method is through donation!

Donating to the Imperial Red Cross, a donation of a hundred million Tianhe Coins can grant one the status of citizen, while a donation of a billion Tianhe Coins can grant one the status of a knight.

However, donations can only advance one’s status up to the rank of knight. Ranks higher than baron can’t be attained purely through donations.

Beyond donations, one can make contributions in a particular field, such as pharmacist, star shift master, adventurer, etc. For instance, if an adventurer discovers a civilized planet or resource-rich planet and reports it to the Empire, they can ascend to a higher rank when their merit accumulation reaches a certain level.

Another way is to compete in the Dimensional Battle Arena.

The Dimensional Battle Arena is a widely popular institution within the Empire that has existed for countless years.

Not just in the Tianhe Empire, in any state, dimensional fighting is a significant recreational activity in people’s lives.

People can place bets through dimensional fights; countless people have become rich here, but also, countless have lost everything.

Lin Zhen’s avatar is at Comet Level 9, allowing him to participate in the Star Realm battle arena.

Fighting can earn money and points. If one is a slave, they can be promoted to poor citizen after achieving ten consecutive victories, and from poor citizen to citizen after one hundred consecutive victories.

This way of advancing doesn’t require donations, which attracts many slaves and poor citizens.

Of course, achieving ten or a hundred consecutive victories is not an easy feat. When a martial artist reaches eight or nine consecutive victories, or ninety or more consecutive victories, the house often arranges some pros to fight against them. The number of people who successfully advance is very few.

If one can achieve a thousand consecutive victories, they can be promoted to the rank of knight.

“Chris, I’m going to the Dimensional Battle Arena.”

“Connecting to the Dimensional Battle Arena immediately….”

The view in front of him changed, and Lin Zhen appeared in front of a massive arena.

The arena is circular, with the battlefield in the center and bleachers all around, capable of accommodating millions of spectators at once.

Of course, this includes some smaller arenas. As a newcomer like Lin Zhen, he can’t directly get onto the big stage; he has to start from the lower tier.

Upon reaching the reception, Lin Zhen directly signed up: “I want to participate in the combat competition.”

“Alright, let me scan you…”

“Beep! Identity verification, Poor Citizen Lin Zhen, from the Solar System, Comet Level 9, Spiritual Mind Master….”

“Solar System? This is the first time I’ve heard of the place,” the receptionist commented.

“Yes, the Solar System was just conquered by the Imperial military, and I’ve just joined the Empire.”

“I see, well then, I’ve recorded your identity, and after paying the one-million security deposit, you can participate in the preliminaries at any time, randomly matching opponents within the Star Realm Stage. For the first ten victories, you will receive a prize of ten thousand Tianhe Coins for every win.”

Having finished, the receptionist gave Lin Zhen a look over. “Although, I would advise you not to harbor high hopes for the competition. I’ve seen too many of you youngsters who’ve just entered the Empire, hoping to stand out in the arena, but I’ll have you know that it covers the entire Milky Way – their combat capability and proficiency are far beyond what you can imagine on your home planet.”

“Thank you, but I want to give it a try nonetheless.”

“Alright then, if you manage to secure ten consecutive victories, you will be awarded the Medal of Bravery. From then on, you will receive a prize of a hundred thousand Tianhe Coins for every win. You’ll be able to recoup your costs in no time.”

Lin Zhen swiped his card, paying the one-million security deposit.

“Alright, you can now enter the battlefield at any time via the intelligent life connector. There has to be a ten-minute interval between each match, as we have to allow customers to place bets. Remember, you cannot bet on your own or your opponent’s victory.”

Lin Zhen nodded, he didn’t need to physically enter the arena; he just had to let Chris handle the connection.

“Chris, start my first fight immediately.”

“Alright, connecting now.”

Shortly afterward, a battle chart appeared in front of Lin Zhen.

This was his first competition match, and the competitors were: Lin Zhen, a person from Earth in the Solar System, at Comet Level 9, having zero arena matches, zero wins, zero losses, and zero draws—a classic newcomer’s stats.

The opponent was Landis from the Pleiades’ Baiyue Star, at Comet Level 8, with three competition matches, two wins, and one loss-an ongoing two-win streak.

Landis lost the first match but won the following two straight, suggesting a decent level of ability.

When the match-up was set, some spectators who were watching the battle chart noticed this match.

“Look, a newcomer has joined the competition; we’ve got money to make.”

“Ha-ha, betting on these matches is the best. The abilities of newcomers generally aren’t worth mentioning, especially this Lin Zhen. He’s from the Solar System, where is that? Have I ever heard of it? He’s likely some primitive newly incorporated.”

“The betting limit for the preliminary rounds is one million, so I’ll bet one million on Landis winning.”

“I’ll bet five hundred thousand on Landis winning, just to make a little pocket money.”

Those placing bets here are typically idle citizens who gamble daily in the arena to earn money based on their keen judgment.

They can’t afford the large bets, but they can definitely try their luck on these smaller fringe flights.

These fringe fights rarely attract big shots, but today, while they were in the heat of their discussions, a group of people walked in.

“Make way, make way! The Crown Prince, Prince Shangguan, is here!”

Upon hearing this name, the people around were scared and hurriedly made way.

The royal family of the Tianhe Empire is the Tian family, but there are also four foreign princes, one of whom is Prince Shangguan.

The son of Prince Shangguan is named Shangguan Jiao, who was said to have been raised as a girl. Later, the prince found his name too feminine, so he had it changed to Shangguan Jiao. He said that this name was strong and spicy, and it once enraged his father a great deal.

Shangguan Jiao was a royal relative, so he was naturally not someone these poor commoners could afford to offend, as recklessly offending him was a capital crime.

Several satellite-level 9 guards parted the crowd, revealing a handsome young man who was constantly looking around, his gaze often lingering on females.

“Prince, we should go to the main arena to place bets, why come to a place like this? The highest limit here is only one million.”

“What do you know? I had a dream last night, and I dreamed that someone important would appear here today. I also like the excitement of unexpected victories. If I win on the outside match, I will continue following. Who knows, I might just get rich.”

“Then, you need to find one to bet on, we’ve gone through more than a hundred outside matches already.”

“What’s the rush? I’m not going to bet on those ugly fellows, I have to bet on a handsome one. How else can I live up to myself, so elegant and charming?”

Shangguan Jiao said, and suddenly noticed the match between Lin Zhen and Landis.

“Ah! This one seems good, quite pleasing to the eye. Come, come, quickly put a million on him, I have a feeling.”

“Prince, he is a newbie, he hasn’t even fought a match, why don’t we wait and observe?”

“Stop nagging, are you the master or am I the master? What difference does it make if I lose or win a million? I just like to go with my gut.”

The guard, who was at level seven of the planetary stage, smiled helplessly and helped Shangguan Jiao place a million on Lin Zhen’s victory.

In a little while, there were already over three hundred people placing bets, most of them were betting on Landis, amounting to over one billion.

Only a handful of people had placed bets on Lin Zhen, amounting to several million.

This proved that Lin Zhen, a newcomer, was not highly regarded.

Ten minutes later, with a flash of white light, Lin Zhen entered the arena.

The arena was not big, with thousands of seats for spectators. All those who placed bets found themselves automatically appearing in the stands, watching the fight.

Shangguan Jiao sat in the best position, surrounded by guards. Even though dying within the Dimensional Universe wasn’t a real death, he couldn’t afford to lose face. Getting attacked in the Dimensional Universe could lead to vendettas.

The Medals of the Purple Bauhinia nobility on his person kept ordinary people at bay. The Bauhinia flower was the emblem of the Shangguan family.

The duel opponents appeared on the stage. Facing Lin Zhen was a guy with purple pupils, his opponent Landis.

Landis glanced at Lin Zhen and sneered: “This is the first time I’ve seen a species with black eyes and black hair, a rookie who hasn’t fought a match. Welcome to the Dimensional Arena, I’ll give you a proper lesson today.”

Lin Zhen looked around and saw the Crown Prince in the stands.

He didn’t expect such a match to attract the presence of the Crown Prince.

“This guy seems to be called Shangguan Jiao. I knew about him in my previous life. He’s a famous dandy in the empire. Although he appears lewd, he’s actually not bad. He likes to watch violent and strong fighters and has even made friends with many of them.”

Through Chris, Lin Zhen was able to understand the betting situation. This Shangguan Jiao had actually placed a million on his victory.

“If I could befriend someone like him, it would be very beneficial for my future plans. So, for this match in the Dimensional Universe, I need to end it quickly and show him my potential.”

He could knock down Landis with one mental shock, but he didn’t plan to do so. If he was going to fight, he would make it more thrilling.

Landis had already taken out a long sword and rushed over in a single stride.

Lin Zhen raised his hand and the Cliff Corner Spear appeared in his hand.

An energy ball surfaced and quickly entered the spear.

The Star Power around him was released to the maximum, Thunder Kill was brewing on the spear.

The Lightning Wings behind him flapped, accelerating to the maximum instantly, propelling Lin Zhen’s body, and rushing towards Landis like a bullet!

The Charged Lumos energy exploded at the tip of the spear with the Star Power fluctuations, and a space crack actually tore open under their violent clash!

“Holy crap! This kid is bold!”

Shangguan Jiao was immediately excited and he stood up from his seat.

“Bang!”

Under the tenfold supersonic acceleration of the Lightning Wings, Landis was unable to dodge Lin Zhen’s fierce rush, and they collided head-on!

The elemental energy exploded like a bomb, shaking the arena violently. Landis was completely destroyed by Lin Zhen’s unparalleled powerful strike!

Not killed, but destroyed. He was blown into tiny bits of blood that scattered across the platform.

Lin Zhen stood, spear in hand, and softly spat out two words: “Trash!”

Shangguan Jiao was starry-eyed in the stands: “Damn! This kid is so cool, I am on him. I will place a bet on each of his matches, I see potential in him!”